Like the last two rodents presented, the phoberomys pattersoni was apart of the infraorder of cavimorpha making him related to the capybara and the guinea pig. But good lord! This guy was a bit bigger than either of those! It is believed that this giant rodent was nearly 10 feet long from head to tail-base with a 5 foot long tail. He weighed anywhere from 550 to 1,500 pounds! Chances are you would hear this heavy guy coming. I imagine the little pacarana related to him must have been proud of his ancestry.
Bones of these giant rodents were found in South America which is interesting since many of the giant "cavis" can be found in that area. The pacarana really isn't all that a distant relative of the phoberomys pattersoni. To see the pacarana walking about almost would make someone consider what it would be like if these creatures were so much bigger. Can you even imagine such a big rodent stomping around?!
Unfortunately, the phoberomys pattersoni has only his scientific name, and I am sorry for the poor fellow who has to read this out loud and have to stumble over it at every instance. I did think it was pretty funny that this fellow has had some informal names. Mighty Mouse was one of them; although, I thought this was a bit dry since the creature doesn't look at all heroic. I was more fond of Ratzilla! What do you think? Sounds a bit more like a huge, hulking creatures stomping around and causing mayhem!
Sound scary? Well, what would you do if this giant, big-toothed monstrosity was standing outside of your front door? Don't worry! Many believe that this big guy was actually a strict herbivore. Actually, if you think about it, that's a little anti-climactic. I was expecting Ratzilla to rage about destroying everything in its way. Why is it that all the big rodents are so tame?
Ladies and gentlemen, the phoberomys pattersoni is like one of the many dinosaurs of the rodent order. Fiction is a difficult proposition when you consider that no one has actually seen more than a set of bones. But take a look at how I presented this blog in the first place. The phoberomys pattersoni is really just a distant relative of the pacarana.
In a fictional world of talking rodents, the phoberomys pattersoni would be like our cavemen. I am sure stories of them would be told for the amusement of their peers. After all, the pacarana are already good at telling stories about themselves--why not stories about their ancestors as well. I wonder if their version would be more like the rampaging Ratzilla. Why not?
But guess what! There was yet another--even bigger--rodent related to the pacarana. Don't miss the next Rodent Spotlight. After all, it's the very last one.
Thank you for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Stomp!
I never really thought about prehistoric rodents... I guess the pacarana is the shrunken version. Unfortunately, being an herbivore means that it is most likely to be food for a carnivore.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you are right on the latter comment. As big as they are, things would still try and eat them. Humans would probably do it as well. One of these rodents could last a long time on the dinner table.
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